Artur Lang

[balthazar]

Hi,

This is my father's guitar, he gave it to me.
Thank you very much Papa!



There are some German archtop specialists on the forum that already know it.
My previous post about it disappeared with forum updates, only the photo album remains.
It received some modifications since then, I will add new pics and info soon.

Bye

[Cunamara]

Geez, look at that headstock! OK, there is "bling" on some guitars and then there's this. Holy smokes! That raises bling into full on art.

[cmajor9]

Congratulations! I hope that, despite the heavy checking, everything is functionally in good shape.

[RJVB]

That checking (which doesn't look at all like a checkerboard!) looks great on/in that black finish!
The fingerrest though, that's not even bling or kitsch, that's just bad taste (IMHO) and ditto design (IMNVHO ).

Many of the German archtops of which I've seen the specs have narrow nutwidths, that seems to be the case here too?

[Woody Sound]

That checking (which doesn't look at all like a checkerboard!) looks great on/in that black finish!

+1

[balthazar]

Thank you guys,

That guitar is perfectly playable.

This is a 17.3” acoustic archtop guitar (lenght of 42.5” and scale lenght of 24.75”) made by Artur Lang (1909-1975) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, around 1955 with:
• Handcarved spruce top with parallel bracing and divided holes
• Handcarved maple back and solid maple side (depth: 90 mm)
• Flat cutaway
• Josef Teller ebony bridge with adjustable saddles
• V chrome plated brass tailpiece with "LA" logo handmade by Müller & Sohn (ABM)
• 7 pieces laminated neck (width at nut: 43.5 mm, width at last fret: 50 mm) (thickness at 1st fret: 21,5 mm, thickness at 12th fret: 24 mm)
• Ebony fretboard (constant radius of 7.25”) with 6 parallelogram pearl inlays and 5 red side dot position markers, 22 frets (2.3 mm) plus a zero fret
• Laminated nut
• Engraved nickel-plated brass headstock plate (thickness: 1 mm)
• Kolb nickel-plated brass machine heads
• Black color, nitrocellulose finish and typical pickguard and bindings

Here is a German website dedicated to those guitars: Artur Lang Gitarren

[RJVB]

• Handcarved spruce top with parallel bracing and divided holes

Note how he uses the same principle that Chris Mirabella also uses, with the "divider" acting as a bridge in line with the saddle. Great minds think alike...!

[balthazar]

Many Lang guitars have these split soundholes.


Artur Lang trying one of his guitars.

Almost the same model except the cutaway.

[bluenote61]

Note how he uses the same principle that Chris Mirabella also uses, with the "divider" acting as a bridge in line with the saddle. Great minds think alike...!

Should we better say Chis Mirabella uses the same principle Artur Lang used already in the past?

[balthazar]

Hi,

Originally, it is an acoustic guitar.

Here are some dates:

- 1968, my father bought it used to another French conscript during his compulsory military service in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
He spent his military service as a musician (saxophone alto) in the 24e GCP fanfare.

The guitar was equipped with this metallic bridge. If anyone knows the origin... I can also take more photos.



And a Framus pickup plate (Schaller made?) like below


- Around 1980, the Framus pickup plate is replaced by a Bill Lawrence A400 pickup, a pickguard (L5 style) with volume and tone pots and a Switchcraft 157 endpin jack.
Guitar is strung with Pyramid flatwounds.
Changes made by Denisson Musique, 160 rue de Charenton, Paris, France.

- Around 2010, the metallic bridge is replaced by a Josef Teller 103E ebony bridge like the original one (I suppose) bought to Norbert Schnepel (Musikkeller) in Dorsten.
Guitar is strung with Thomastik Infeld flatwounds JS112.



- In 2024, Bill Lawrence A400 pickup is replaced by a DeArmond Rythm Chief 1000 (reissue).
The pickguard is replaced by one more similar to the original with Schatten thumbwheel pots.
The Switchcraft endpin jack (defective) is replaced by a new one.
Guitar is strung with Thomastik Infeld flatwounds JS113.

Bye

[balthazar]

Hello,

Here are some pics shot as the ones found on schlaggitarren website.






Body



Soundholes


Version 3

Carved back



To be continued...

Bye

[balthazar]

Side



Bindings


Type 3

Neck





Neck joint



Fretboard


6 mother-of-pearl parallelograms

Side markers


5 red dots

To be continued...

[Ol' Fret]

Hi, balthazar, just one comment: looking at the photos, I'm sure that this black finish cannot be original. In terms of appearance alone, it does not meet Lang's high quality criteria in many areas. The last picture alone speaks volumes: Lang would never have accepted such a finish job:



However, I don't want to say anything more about it without holding the guitar in my hand; that would simply be unprofessional.
Of course, the guitar can still sound fantastic - a wonderful family piece in any case!

[balthazar]

Hi Ol' Fret,

Thank you for your intervention.
It is possible that this black colour is not original, I totally ignore the guitar history between 1955 and 1968.

Some other pics

Headplate



Tuners


Kolb type 3

Tailpiece


ABM-Müller type 5

[Ol' Fret]

<< It is possible that this black colour is not original, I totally ignore the guitar history between 1955 and 1968. >>



That's ok, but now I am not sure whether my suggestions above were understood correctly.
When it comes to the quality of an acoustic guitar, a high-quality finish - visually, but even more so functionally - is a very important point in addition to the design, the wood used and the quality of construction. Lang also attached great importance to this.
Since this refinished Lang can hardly achieve its optimal "Lang" sound, I would not take this lightly. There are certainly people who could cry at the sight of such a guitar, which would certainly be the opposite of your original intention, namely to share the joy and pride as an owner and player. Also, newcomers to Lang guitars could also get the false impression that the Langs are "not of that great quality".
Just to avoid this is why I allow myself to make such comments. It is undisputed, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, that any kind of lecturing should be avoided as far as possible - completely justified! On the other hand, for centuries, knowledge and skills have only been passed on from master to student, from "top to bottom", not vice versa. This is especially true for younger people in the age of digital information that is supposedly available anywhere and at any time. No man is an island; we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.
It's great that you feel happy about your Lang instrument; you'd probably be even happier though if that refinishing had been carried out according to Lang's - or any corresponding - criteria.

I suspect that some people who look at Lang guitars do not know that their guitar has been (suboptimally) refinished. This is sometimes extremely difficult to spot in fotos, hence my initial reservedness in this regard. No lecturing meant, just some strong indications of refinish:
The headstock shows areas where the surface was not adequately leveled before the refinishing. And such pronounced craquelures are practically never found on Lang guitars with original finish. They may be popular with fans of the vintage fraction, but they deteriorate the sound over the years (by absorbing grime and moisture or polishes that get into the cracks and are drawn sideways under the still intact varnish by capillary action).
Lang also worked extremely cleanly on the side bindings. They practically never cause problems (such as "outgassing") and only come off in the exceptional case of an accident - they were secured with small plastic pins throughout the sides in addition to the glue. Even the edges of these bindings were rounded all around. It was therefore a matter of course for Lang that he meticulously removed paint from such uncolored white or tortoise areas - before applying clear varnish layers.

[balthazar]

I perfectly understood your point and appreciate your comments, they are very important to me.
I don't know how much refinishing affects the sound. I'm not a specialist, it's the only Lang guitar I've played, it's impossible for me to compare it.
My father bought it at a time when prices weren't that high, probably for next to nothing and without knowing anything about its origins.
These guitars are not known, even less in France than in Germany. It's only been a little less than 20 years since, thanks to the Internet, I discovered that the "LA" logo was Artur Lang's signature.
If someone had bought this guitar for several thousand euros thinking that it was an entirely original Lang and then learned that this guitar was refinished afterwards, I can understand their disappointment. I'm not in this situation and I don't plan to sell this guitar either.
One of my wishes in publishing the photos of this guitar is to obtain information on Artur Lang and his guitars and you are one of these great sources.
Another wish would be that someone recognizes this guitar and says: "wow, this guitar, I know it well! It belonged to x, here is its story..."
I like stories.